special report: basque country
Key role for Basque companies in R&D projects
July 2014 saw the latest series of tests of a four-column semi-submersible platform developed by a consortium of companies in the Basque region of Spain, as work continued on the development of the 10MW SUPRAPOWER turbine that one of the companies, Tecnalia, is also involved with
DEVELOPED by Nautilus Floating Solutions, a consortium of companies based in the Basque region of Spain that includes Astilleros Murueta, Tecnalia, Tamoin, Velatia and Vicinay Marine Innovation, the Nautilus floating platform began testing at the Environmental Hydraulics Institute in Cantabria (IH Cantabria) in July 2014. Initially designed for floating
offshore wind turbines in the 5 megawatt (MW) range, the Nautilus platform is also intended to be easy to construct and commission, being built in a conventional shipyard, and is easy to install without requiring the use of crane vessels or larger, more sophisticated vessels. (The consortium has used Port of Bilbao as its base case for the supply chain, but the platform could equally easily be built at any other European port.) It was designed using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) reference wind turbine for offshore development as the base case so that the platform is ‘technology agnostic’. An earlier series of tests,
conducted using a 1:60 scale model, were used to measure line tension, displacement and nacelle acceleration and to assess the hydrodynamic performance of the design. The tests demonstrated that accelerations were lower than expected (3 m/s2) and that mooring tension was also lower than expected. Heave and pitch damping were also higher than expected. Germán Pérez, head of offshore
32 I Offshore Wind Journal I 3rd Quarter 2014
wind in the energy and environment division at Tecnalia, one of the companies in the Nautilus Floating Solutions consortium, explained that this initial series of tests – which are being undertaken using a 1:35 scale model of the floating platform – will be followed by a further series of tests due to start in September 2014. Once complete, the data from the tests will be correlated with simulations that have already been undertaken on the semi-submersible platform.
This work is due to be completed by the end of 2014, enabling the consortium to begin work on detailed engineering of a full-scale prototype platform. Construction of the full-scale unit is due to get underway in 2016, enabling
tests with a 5MW-range turbine to begin in 2017. Nautilus Floating Solutions is discussing the potential availability of a turbine with industry, but given Gamesa’s development of a 5MW unit and the fact that the company is also located in the Basque region, the Spanish turbine would seem to be the most obvious choice. Mr Pérez explained that, initially, the Nautilus consortium looked at a range of potential floating platforms, including different types of semi- submersibles, spar and tension leg platforms before settling on the four- legged semi-submersible concept due to a combination of factors, including its suitability as a platform for wind turbines, cost-effectiveness, ease of manufacturer and its ability to be deployed in a range of water depths and, potentially, with much larger turbines. (Although the prototype is designed for 5MW turbines, the Nautilus consortium believes that its concept is suitable for use with turbines of up to 10MW.) “Compared with the alternatives,
the four-legged semi-submersible is easier to install and is less location sensitive, so its potential is greater,” Mr Pérez explained, noting that semi- submersible units such as the one the consortium has settled on are ideal
Compared with the alternatives, the four-legged semi- submersible is easier to install and is less location sensitive
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